Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be friends with a murderer? Or escape a kidnapping? Or have a father who was a serial killer? Join Jac Vanek and Alexis Li...
Put your tin foil hats on because this weeks episode is a wild ride! Join us as we uncover everything we can about Luigi Mangione, the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Health Care, and what the hell is ACTUALLY going on. We’re talking facts but we’re also diving into theories because let’s be honest, nothing is making sense right now…
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Episode 329: Timothy Haslett Jr.
On October 7, 2022, a 22-year-old black woman is frantically knocking on doors in a suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri. When police arrive, they find the distressed woman with duct tape around her neck, wearing a trash bag, and a metal collar with a padlock. She tells police she had been held against her will and sexually assaulted by a man at a home nearby. But this is just the beginning. City law enforcement knows - but has consistently denied - that local black women have been going missing. When another victim turns up murdered, the lies and cover-ups begin to be exposed. And things turn uglier when a retired former detective is implicated in other local murders, with misconduct and malfeasance more prevalent than many realised. In episode 329, Jac and Alexis detail the alleged case against Timothy Haslett Jr, and how his supposed crimes have been enabled by a police department rife with systemic racism.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree
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DEEP DIVE: SISTER WIVES
Today is a different kind of deep dive! You know the show Sister Wives? Yeah, the wacky reality show on TLC about that weird polygamist guy with the ramen noodle mullet? Did you know one of his wives has a serial killer in her family tree? This week we’re deep diving the dark, twisted history of the LeBaron family. And there’s murder….lots of murder.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree
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Episode 328: Dr. Blatti
On March 22, 2016, a 50-year-old woman passes away in Baldwin, New York. She had been suffering from chronic pain for almost 10 years following surgery, and was found to have died from an opioid overdose. It’s a tragic yet not uncommon story in a country in the grip of a sweeping prescription opioid epidemic. It wouldn’t be until almost two and a half years later that an investigation commenced into not just the woman’s death, but that of three other people who had also died in similar circumstances in the meantime. As law enforcement looks into how the deceased obtained the prescription drugs which had caused their deaths, it became clear that they were all provided by the same physician. But before the doctor could be charged, a fifth person lost their life. In episode 328, Jac and Alexis discuss the shocking case of Dr George Blatti, someone with no regard for the Hippocratic oath, the patients he was obligated to help, or their families.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree
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DEEP DIVE: ELLEN
You asked for it, and boy did we deliver! This week’s Deep Dive is allllllll about Ellen DeGeneres. Hats on. Minds open. Because it turns out that Diddy isn’t the only diabolical supervillain floating around the 1%. We dive into the Wayfair x Ellen Trafficking conspiracy theory, the bizarre death of Anne Heche and tWitch, and why exactly did Ellen and Portia flee the country???
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree
Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be friends with a murderer? Or escape a kidnapping? Or have a father who was a serial killer? Join Jac Vanek and Alexis Linkletter on a chilling ride into the darkest corners of your worst nightmares. Murders, cults, kidnappings, and conspiracies—all told through the eyes of a guest who is one degree of separation from the story itself. From infamous serial killers to the unbelievable unknown murder in your own backyard, The First Degree delivers a new perspective to the already fascinating true crime landscape. And who knows... you may be our next guest. (Plus, join them every Thursday for Killing Time, the light-hearted, true crime-adjacent aftershow!)